The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) this week lifted a stop work order it had placed on Peraton last October pending the outcome of a protest by Leidos [LDOS] of a potential $578 million contract the agency awarded Peraton for support of transportation security equipment at airports nationwide.

Leidos, which was the incumbent on the contract, withdrew its protest on Tuesday, two days before the Government Accountability Office was slated to render a decision. Leidos declined comment on why it withdrew the protest.

Under a $578 million contract with the TSA, Peraton will help sustain security equipment, such as Advanced Technology X-Ray systems supplied by Rapiscan Systems to screen carry-on bags at U.S. airports. Photo: Rapiscan Systems
Under a $578 million contract with the TSA, Peraton will help sustain security equipment, such as Advanced Technology X-Ray systems supplied by Rapiscan Systems to screen carry-on bags at U.S. airports. Photo: Rapiscan Systems

Lifting the stop work order frees Peraton to begin providing integrated logistics support for transportation security equipment under the five-year contract, which is the company’s largest in terms of value. Worth potentially more than $100 million annually, the contract could add about 10 to Peraton’s approximately $1.1 billion in sales.

Winning the TSA contract last fall was a successful demonstration of Peraton CEO Stu Shea’s strategy to pursue some large contracts to help the company grow in scale and obtain new customers (Defense Daily, Nov. 3, 2017). Peraton was the name given to the former information technology services business divested by Harris Corp. [HRS] in 2017.

Peraton is a portfolio company of the private equity firm Veritas Capital.